(Xėngmėng)Life

Together, this Chinese compound word means life, which is the central theme
of Chinese alchemy - to promote longevity of life to immortality.

In the viewpoint of ancient Taoist of the Chinese alchemy school, Buddhism
only cultivates xėng, the
spiritual or mental aspect of life while Taoism cultivates also mėng, the
physiological aspect of life, so called "cultivate both life and innate nature"
.

There are also different Taoist schools of Chinese alchemy that places
different emphasis on this. For example, the Quanzhen School or the North sect
emphasize more on cultivating xėng, while
the South sect emphasize more on cultivating mėng, so called the difference
between "first innate nature then life" and "first life then
innate nature" .